Winter's Child
by Pit Nyburus
Summary: Maeve only travels the world once a year, All Hallows Eve. It seems that this year she has found something interesting that has caught her attention. A young witch in a troubling position. fem!harry, no clue on pairings yet
1. A little Walk

**_A/N: Something I thought I would write just for fun when the Idea came to me. I suspect it will be mainly shorter chapters just written for a bit of fun._**

 ** _Still, let me know if you like it._**

* * *

 **October 31st, 1986, Privet Drive**

Privet drive was possible one of the most boring places in the known world. Everything on it was uniform and completely uninteresting. In fact, one might even say it was the embodiment of contentment. The people who live in this street, and the surrounding were as normal as they came and many prided themselves on just that, being normal. Yet there was this one day of the year where each of them allowed themselves to have just the slightest bit of irregularity to their otherwise completely structured lives. All Hallow's Eve. it was early in the morning and people were already out setting up the 'spooky' decorations in lieu of the festivities that the evening would bring.

In fact, they were so caught up in their own little bit of irregularity that none of them seemed to notice the woman dressed in black walking down the middle of the street. She was dressed in an elegant gown the kind you would expect to see if you were in the habit of attending lavish balls held by the upper class. The material seemed to be the finest of cloth, yet it held an unnatural glow to it. Solid black colour came up to above her chest, though the rest was sheer until it collared around the neck, the arms too shared this characteristic. The ladies hair matched her dress yet seemed to flow around her, whilst her pale white skin almost the colour of snow contrasted her dark clothing and hair perfectly. She looked rather out of place in the chilly October winds. Yet the cold was not something that bothered Maeve, for that was this woman's name, she was used to it.

As she continued her way down the street she stopped to look at the decoration at each of the houses that she came to pass. Smiling at some and scowling at others. Though like when she had first appeared no-one seemed to take notice of the stranger walking down their street.

She stopped once more in front of number four. It was possibly the blandest house she had seen on the entire street. It lacked any sort of decoration with the exception of a small pumpkin sticker on the door. It almost felt like an insult to the very spirit of All Hallow's Eve itself. She scowled at the door and felt almost a compulsion to march on over and change the minds of the occupants inside. Alas, that would simply lead to a confrontation that was ill-advised these days.

"Excuse me." A small voice called out to her. Looking around Maeve could not see anyone, let alone anyone close enough for such a small voice to reach them. "Ma'am, can I help you?"

Finally, Maeve looked down at the hedge that belonged to the boring house in front of her. Kneeling down in the half dugout flower bed was a small girl. She looked no older than four, possibly five Maeve could only guess. She had never been the best at guessing children's ages. Perhaps it was a side effect of her own longevity that made it hard to reconcile with the very young. Yet the amazing thing was that despite not looking directly at her this young one knew she was there, it was impressive to say the least. Then again children were always more sensitive to such things.

"Hello there little one," Folding her skirt down behind her knees she bends down so that she is face to face with the girl. She shares some interesting features with Maeve. The Raven black hair and the pale white skin. She could grow up to be quite the beautiful girl if given the correct chance. "Are you helping in the Garden?"

The girl nods quickly, as if afraid to wait too long to answer her. Maeve's ice blue eyes look at the girl once more. She appears to be wearing old clothing, though wearing was a kind word, it appeared to Maeve that the young girl was almost drowning in the clothes that she was wearing. The black hair was matted and tied back with a simple piece of string.t

"And why are you not at school?" Maeve continues her questioning, noticing that the girl was still to look at her.

"I... I'm not allowed at school." She answers, forcing a raised brow from the older women. "I'm a bad influence."

Maeve quickly lifts her hand, as if by magic the young girl is forced to look up at her. The first thing that struck Maeve was the emerald green eyes. There was a strength hidden within them that she had not seen in a very long time. Yet it was clouded by despair and surrounded by tears. The young girl seemed to be doing a very good job of holding in her tears.

"You have very pretty eyes," Maeve informs her, causing the girl to blush slightly.

"Thank you, miss..." A glimmer of a smile appears on her face.

"Maeve," She introduces herself, "I am called Maeve. What is your name."

"It's-"

"Girl!" The younger one is cut off by a shrill sheik coming from the front door. "What do you think you are doing!"

Looking up to meet the owner of the voice Maeve sees a tall thin woman with blond hair who appears to be wearing some sort of hideous apron. The girl's mother perhaps is the only thought that passes through her head. The woman marched out over the garden until she is almost on top of the is clear that she cannot see Maeve standing there, or if she can she has decided to not make it clear.

"It is my fault," Maeve says politely, forcing the women to notice her, as she does her face quickly changes from one of fury to a forced smile. "I could not help but compliment your daughter's work. Such diligence helping out around the house at a young age."

"She is my niece actually," The woman is quick to correct, and there is almost an accusatory glare as if to ask who Maeve is without exchanging words.

"How rude, I am Maeve," She offers her hand, which the women accept slowly. "I have just moved into the area and am trying to get my bearings."

"Petunia Dursley," The woman introduces herself with pursed lips. "I hope my niece was not rude, she is troublesome."

"You have nothing to fear, she was nothing but polite." Maeve grants the young girl a smile. "Well, I had best continue my exploration."

With a nod to bother Aunt and niece Maeve decided to be on her way and continued to walk down the street. She did not stop when she heard the slap or overheard the words that came with it.

"What are you doing talking to her!" It was Petunia, "Get inside now!"

It did not seem like the way to treat a child that was in her charge, at least not in Maeve's opinion. Perhaps it merited a further look, but she had only one day to see if there was any need to get involved. After that, she would not be able to do anything until the next year came to pass.

She stopped next to a small secluded section of the path and quickly spoke some words in a strange language. For a second nothing happened, yet soon the wind answered her call and cut through the small park bringing with it a tall man. He was wearing tattered and dirty clothes. He was also not looking too sure of his own feet. Stepping out of the shadow reveals moss green hair that reaches all the way down his back, though it is plaited quite nicely the hair itself if full of sticks and dirt. The man's face is covered by what looks like most of a Canine skull only the bottom mandible is missing.

"Molach, I assumed you were watching me." The man nods in response to her question. "Well can you please look in on that little girl and let me know what you find?"

Even with his mask, she can tell that he has raised an eyebrow to question her instruction. The two of them had been together for such a long time that conversation was almost unnecessary, she could tell what he was thinking just by looking into the depths of his blood red eyes.

"I will head back for now, if that is what worries you." He lets out a silent sigh, but nods in agreement, before walking out into the street and back the way that she had just come from.

She watched him go, a slight hunger in her eyes as she had been a very long time since she had interfered in the lives of mortals, there was a strange feeling, almost a thrill to once more be acting in such a manner. With a final cold laugh, she kept up her end of the deal with Molach and started to head back to her home.

* * *

Harriet was still rubbing her cheek were Aunt Petunia had slapped her earlier for talking to that nice lady in the garden. The lady, Miss Maeve, had been so nice to her that she couldn't help but want to speak with her. It seemed however that it had been a poor decision on her part. She had been doing so well to avoid getting hurt by her Aunt and Uncle ever since they had pulled her out of school. She was doing all the extra chores that she could just to make sure they wouldn't hurt her, but now she had ruined it all in a single afternoon.

"Girl come through here!" Her Aunt called from the kitchen. Harriet dropped what she was doing and was quick to present herself to the matron of the household. She did as she was taught to, head down eyes to the floor to await instruction. "I am going out to get Dudley's costume for tonight, and then I will be doing some shopping. I have left you a list of your chores and some bread. Make sure you have it completed by the time I get home."

"Yes Aunt Petunia." Was all she could say, she didn't dare look up until she heard the bang of the front door closing.

It had been five years since she had arrived here at her Aunt and Uncles, five very long years. She supposed the first year or so must have been alright. She survived them after all, but it was not like she was old enough to actually remember what had happened. When she was old enough, she was expected to start working around the house. She was at least three. That was simple to work out. She had been at this house for about three years when she started. But beyond that, she really had no idea when her birthday was. She was not allowed to ask questions, it was one of her Aunt and Uncles many rules for a normal Dursley life.

Thinking more about her luck she sighed and grabbed both the list and the bread off the table. Nibbling on the crush she looked through the long list of things that her Aunt wanted her to get done. Most of it was simple cleaning, easy enough once you know what you were doing. But that didn't make it any quicker. Many of the things she was to clear were outside the reach of her small frame. She would need to use the step ladders from the kitchen just to reach them, and when using them she had to be even more careful, just to make sure that she never dropped anything that belonged to her Aunt or Uncle. The last time she had broken something like that it had earned her a week or so in the cupboard and the word that was now carved across her back.

With one final sigh, she finally started to get on with her tasks, completely unaware of the two bright red eyes seemingly watching her from the bushes in the back garden.


	2. Leaving

_**A/N: I know this is a shorter chapter, but stopping it here was the best that I could do to keep the small amount of flow it has. Hopefully, the next chapter will be more dialogue and explanations about what is going on.**_

 _ **Please let me know what you think :)**_

 **October 31st, 1986, Privet Drive**

Night had fallen on the quiet suburban area, and as with every Halloween, Dudley Dursley was getting ready to go out trick or treating with his mum and his friends. It was the opposite with Harriet; she would be spending the night answering the door and handing out the sweeties so that her uncle did not need to bother with children. He was currently sitting in front of the television with a large brandy in one hand. Occasionally he would complain about the noise of the children out on the street, or call her through and shout about the way she was handling the people at the door. Though if Harriet was completely honest this was better than any alternative that she could think of.

The only thing that was not very pleasant was the look of pity that she got from most of the Adults who were at the door showing the other children around. More than one had complimented on her 'costume' and asked if she was doing Oliver Twist. She just nodded in agreement, not really understanding what they meant but agreeing made sure her Uncle did not have to get involved and that kept him happy. What kept him happy also meant that she was for the most part safe from any potential fallout caused by his unhappiness.

Despite being a rather small neighborhood, the number of the people who visited throughout the evening was quite impressive. Harriet did her bit in handing out the small bags of sweets, peanuts and caramel apples that she had prepared earlier in the day as part of her chores. She was exhausted by the time Dudley, his friends and Petunia returned for the evening.

She was thankful that she was quickly ushered back into her cupboard under the stairs; she had managed to sneak a small sweet earlier from one of the bags and was looking forward to enjoying it once the rest of the family had headed off to bed. It was one of the only small pleasures that she had found for herself in recent times. It had been getting worse to live here recently, her Aunt and Uncle almost seemed to be scared of her, and it was always the same around Halloween she had noticed. They became tense and her Uncle would drink more at home, which was bad because he was much less controlled when this was the case and it would usually result in more than one beating for her.

It was late almost midnight by the time that the Dursley's finally went off to bed. Dudley had spent most of the night screaming at his parents demanding that they allow him to stay up and eat as much as he wanted; this was exactly what they had done of course. Not caring that their niece was sitting along in a cupboard desperately wanting for even the slightest bit of attention.

When Harriet finally got up the courage to emerge from the safety of her cupboard she was meet with a full moon shining its light through the kitchen windows. She entered and quietly as she could get a glass to have a drink of water. As long as she was quiet and cleaned up once she was finished her relatives would never know that she had taken it. Using the small stool she filled the glass, staring out of the window as she did. That was when she saw it for the first time. Standing in the middle of the back garden was a massive creature. It was as big as a bear but shaped more like a wolf. The deep red eyes locked on to her even through the window. She let out a loud gasp which was joined quickly by the glass smashing on the ground.

There was clattering above her as she heard her Uncle scream something about no-one would burgle his house whilst he still drew breath. Harriet could hear the footsteps above her, not just one set but it appeared that the whole family had decided to come and see what the commotion was. She looked back out the window. To her amazement the creature still stood there right in front of her. Its head was covered in what looked like a canine skull. It seemed to signal for her. Amazed at what it was doing, her curiosity took over and she pointed at herself and watched as it nodded slowly.

Just as the lights came on she pulled open the back door and ran out towards the creature. It leads her out of the garden and out onto the street. The orange glow that filled the street cast a strange light on the world. It was only when she saw this unfamiliar light that Harriet stopped to look back at the only home she had ever known. She wondered if they would miss her, or even notice that she had gone.

Her mind was pulled back to reality when she felt warm fur brush over her arm. The Wolf like creature was standing over her, curled around her like a protective it made sure she could no longer look back. The only way was forwards.

Harriet and the creature walked through several streets, passing many houses that still had Halloween decorations up, yet the lights were all out. She did not know what time it would be but it must have been very early in the morning. Eventually, they came to the edge of a small wood that lay on the outskirts of the town. Harriet had seen the kids playing by it sometimes when she had been going to and from the small shop at the edge of this road for Aunt Petunia. Once she had heard a mother yelling at her child never to play near that forest, that it was very dangerous.

Yet here she was standing at the entrance, the creature using its head to gently nudge her into it. She had barely taken a step off the path when a pain shot through her foot. She had left in such a hurry that she had forgotten to wear shoes. Stopping she looked down at her foot and saw several cuts caused not only by the rough road surface but a few much deeper ones from the forest floor. With an apologetic look, the creature sat down next to her and gestured to its back. Harriet wasn't sure, it did look big enough to be able to support her weight, she couldn't weigh that much after all, but what if it was trying to say it had made a mistake and she was to go home.

It seemed that the creature was not as content as she was to sit and think about what was going on, as after a minute of her doing nothing it stood up once behind her it simply lifted her up by her shirt. It was surprisingly gentle for such a scary looking beast. With one swooping movement, it managed to throw her onto its back and made a break into the forest. Harriet let out a rather loud scream and grabbed on to any of the hair that she could to keep herself on. Once she was over the initial shock however it was quite a thrill. She found herself trying to sit up in the wind. It was exhilarating to have the wind blowing through her nest of hair.

It did not seem to take them long to reach their destination. Now far from any civilization the beast came to a stop next to a small ring of stones that sat in the center of a clearing. She had never seen anything like it, each of the stones was carved with strange runes and other markings. The creature let her down once more, she winced as her foot touched the ground expecting it to hurt. However, the soft moss that was now underfoot seemed to sooth the wound. She found it to be an odd feeling, not unpleasant just odd.

The two of them stepped into the stone circle after another soft nude from the creature. Once they were in the middle the stones began to glow. Harriets body felt light like it was floating, rising into the sky. Suddenly the world seemed to go white, a blinding light forced her to close her eyes and the feeling subsided, once more she felt like she was on the ground.

"You can open your eyes know, little one." The voice that spoke seemed familiar, washing over with a feeling of relief she opened her eyes to see the women that she had spoken to earlier that day standing before her. "Welcome to Everwinter."


End file.
